JERUSALEM 

Papua New Guinea inaugurated its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on Tuesday, becoming the fifth country to maintain a diplomatic mission in the city.

The embassy was opened in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape, according to a statement by the office of the Israeli prime minister.

Papua New Guinea established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1978, three years after the Pacific nation gained independence from Australia.

According to Israel’s Channel 14, Israel has recently provided Papua New Guinea with aid in the areas of agriculture, medicine and humanitarian assistance.

Papua New Guinean authorities in return have stopped voting in recent years on resolutions against Israel at the UN.

In 2018, the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a move that was followed by Honduras, Guatemala and Kosovo.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Middle East conflict, with Palestinians insisting that East Jerusalem – illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 – should serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar